Switzerland will not recognise ‘sham’ Ukraine referendums

Swiss neutrality does not mean indifference or lack of solidarity, President Ignazio Cassis told the UN General Assembly. Keystone / Justin Lane

Switzerland has joined other Western nations in condemning Russian plans for referendums in four occupied areas of Ukraine.

Speaking on Tuesday at the UN General Assembly in New York, Swiss President Ignazio Cassis said the planned referendums were against the law. “Switzerland will not recognise the results of such referendums because they violate territorial integrity, which is an integral part of the UN Charter,” Cassis told journalists. “We invite Russia to refrain from such sham referendums.”

Cassis had already rebuked Russia for its aggression in Ukraine and called on Moscow to end the war immediately. Later on Wednesday he was also due to meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on the margins of the Assembly, where he planned to raise the latest “provocations” of Vladmir Putin and urge Lavrov to “step back from a further escalation of this terrible war”, as Cassis told journalists.

Switzerland would not participate militarily in the ongoing conflict, but neutrality does not mean indifference or lack of solidarity, Cassis had said in his speech to the Assembly on Tuesday. “We are committed to upholding the principles of freedom, democracy and the rule of law – values that are enshrined in our federal constitution,” he said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday announced a partial military mobilisation of reservists, leading to fears that the war could escalate. This comes after Russian-backed officials announced plans for urgent referendums in four regions of Ukraine currently controlled by Russia. Administrations in Luhansk, Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia say the referendums on joining Russia will begin this Friday.